Drone missions to watch Chinese, North Korean activities

Tsuyoshi Takasawa and Katsufumi Mano

Tokyo: Full-scale large military drone operations will start shortly in Japan and its nearby airspace to monitor Chinese military activities and North Korea's nuclear and missile development.

The US Air Force plans to deploy two Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles to its Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture late this month and the Air Self-Defence Force plans to procure three UAVs of the same type in fiscal 2015 and later.

However, experts warn that regulations on their flights must be put in place because Japan's current aviation laws lack clear stipulations on large drones.

A Global Hawk is a 40-meter-wide, 14.5-meter-longunmanned plane manufactured by Northrop Grumman, a US aerospace and defence company. The drone has been deployed by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Advertisement

One of the units to be deployed to Misawa Air Base will be operated from the ground in Misawa until it reaches a certain height after takeoff. The drone will then be controlled via satellite by Beale Air Force Base staff in California, according to sources.

The unarmed UAV will fly at an altitude of 18,000 metres for up to 30 hours, and will survey military facilities on the ground and vessels in open waters with sophisticated sensors and radar.

Ground control will resume at the Misawa base just before the drone lands after completing its reconnaissance flight, sources said.

The US Air Force has laid out their plans regarding drone operations in Japan. Two of the three Global Hawks currently stationed at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam are to be deployed to the Misawa base. The air force reportedly decided to move them to the Misawa base so they could be operated on a regular basis since local weather is stable between May and October. These conditions are much more favourable compared to their deployments in Guam, where missions are disrupted by bad weather including frequent typhoons, according to the sources.

The ASDF is planning to acquire three Global Hawks and deploy them at its own Misawa Air Base located next to the US base. Deployment of the drones is expected to enhance the capabilities of both countries to gather intelligence in areas around Japan.

"The Global Hawk provided us with a wealth of data, including surveillance of crippled reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant," a senior Self-Defence Force official said. "The device will be effective in surveying the activities of North Korea and the Chinese military."

Japan currently uses an intelligence-gathering satellite to monitor military facilities in North Korea where nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles are developed, but the time frame to monitor a particular site is limited because the satellite is in orbit. However, a Global Hawk equipped with high-performance sensors capable of extended flight time will be able to augment intelligence gathering.

The units are also expected to be useful in watching Chinese naval ship movements in the South China Sea, the sources added.

The transport ministry last month issued warnings to civilian aircraft to avoid collisions with unmanned US Air Force surveillance planes in preparation for their deployment in Japan in late May.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry notified operators of small planes and others flying near the Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, to contact the Misawa control tower if they fly at an altitude of 6100 metres or lower, and with a control tower in Sapporo if they fly at an altitude of 6100 metres or higher.

However, the impact of their deployment is said to be very limited because the US Air Force will fly Global Hawks only about twice a week, sources said. Furthermore, civilian airplane operators have taken the news of the deployment of unmanned military planes calmly. "I don't think it will affect our business," said a spokesperson of a company that uses a small airplane based at Aomori Airport in Aomori to conduct aerial surveys.

However, some residents around Misawa Air Base have expressed concern about the drones. In April, about 60 residents marched in front of the base to express their opposition to the deployment of Global Hawks.

"I'm worried because the planes are unmanned," a leader of the protesting residents said.

"As far as we know, there have been no serious accidents with this type of drone, but we also understand the view of residents voicing concern," an official of the Misawa municipal government said. "We want the US side and the Defence Ministry to disclose more information on the drones."